In 1913 William and Lawrence Bragg fired a beam of x-rays at a salt crystal and photographed the resulting pattern.

"This was the first time the atomic structure of matter could be 'seen'. The Braggs realised they could interpret the strangely regular ways in which the X-ray beam was reflected to work out how the atoms within the crystal are arranged," said Professor Curry.

That realisation was the basis for analysing hundreds of structures including enzymes, proteins and viruses.

"The structure of penicillin, haemoglobin, graphite and benzene are just a handful of its discoveries. It can be used to analyse anything that can be crystallised, including chemical compounds and large biological molecules."

X-ray crystallography remains the foremost technique for determining atomic structure, from the blades of a jet turbine to soil analysis on Mars by the Curiosity rover.